Poverty as measured by material deprivation through lack of economic resources remains absolutely central to understanding the causation of most aspects of social exclusion and a range of social outcomes, concludes the 2nd of the two-volume PSE-UK study.

Read more about the first of the two-volume study based on the PSE-UK survey. Find out how poverty affects people from different groups within the UK: young and old; men and women; different ethnic backgrounds; those with disabilities; and others.

With an estimated 3.3 million people paying more on interest in an 18 month period than they do on repaying what they owe, the Financial Conduct Authority's proposal for new rules for banks on tackling persistent debt need to be taken seriously. They could help banks as well as those in debt, argues Lindsey Burton

Government policies have meant misery for millions in fuel poverty, and Conservatives manifesto commitments promise no relief, argues Ruth London. A different direction is needed, prioritising renewables, insulation, and public control of energy and prices.

The human cost of government imposed austerity should be a key issue, argue Vickie Cooper and David Whyte. Drawing on their new book, 'The Violence of Austerity', they set out how austerity is shaping people's lives and deaths.

The Bank of England has been doing its own evaluation of the impact of austerity and the results reveal that the worst effects are falling on the poorest, children and the sick or disabled. Nick Bailey examines the findings.

What constitutes good well-being for disabled young people differs little from that of their non-disabled peers but what is different, argues Grace Kelly, is the high reliance on family/carers for facilitating opportunities for these young people to take part in activities and engage socially with their peers. Drawing on conversations with disabled adolescents, ‘Improving the Well-being of Disabled Young People’ sets out key messages to inform policy.

The increasing private ownership of capital is leading to a growing wealth gap. To tackle this skewing of the economy in favour of the rich, Stewart Lansley argues for the creation of social wealth funds with the returns evenly shared across society.

The government wants to redefine poverty to be a measure of workless homes and educational attainment. But most children in poverty live in households where at least one adults works. Gill Main questions how this proposal helps tackle child poverty.

PSE analysis of unpublished data shows that the majority of the UK population has suffered from a fall in their living standards during the current government’s term of office. The data, which the DWP had declined to publish before the election, was released to the EU statistical office.

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PSE:UK is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York working with the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. ESRC Grant RES-060-25-0052.